Embodiments pertain to the art of protection circuits, and specifically, to a technique for automatically restarting a voltage foldback circuit.
In today's environment, many mechanisms exist that are used for providing protection against overload conditions. Fuses and fuse links provide protection by opening up when a particular threshold is reached. Also, circuit breakers and relays provide circuit protection in a similar manner. Another mechanism that provides protections against overload conditions is foldback circuits which control the output current and voltage instead of disconnecting a load during an overload condition.
Overload conditions can be caused for several reasons including shorted circuit components, an increase in heat dissipation in the circuit, malfunctioning components, etc. It is critical to detect overload conditions and efficiently resolve the overload condition while minimizing the damage caused to the internal circuit and connected loads to return the system back to normal operation to accomplish the mission.